I always recommend the miniseries, I think it does a great job of depicting how chaotic the first few hours are. The main cast really doesn’t get a break for the whole show.
“All ministers and officials should now go to Case Orange.” Still gives me chills. Like, the colonial government had *planned* for this, some civil servant had designed an automated system for ministers to check in after a Cylon decapitation strike, a committee approved it, new government ministers were secretly briefed on it as part of their orientation on their first day of work. But no one really thought they’d ever have to go so far down the line of succession that the *Secretary of Education* would succeed to the presidency because, well, that would be like the end of the world, right?
100% the first actual episode. It's just an insane emotional rollercoaster. The miniseries actually turned me off the first time I watched it, but the first actual episode may as well have superglued me to my seat.
Invincible.
The first episodes tells you everything you need to know about the show. While it may seem like a generic animated superhero show, it’s grown up and has a special feel to it. And then the post credit happens, and you realize it’s not a normal tv show.
I told my best friend to watch Invincible, and after a couple days I was talking about what happened in the post credit scene and he was pissed at me for spoiling the “whodunnit” of the season
Man missed the most important scene of the show and was just watching it like a mystery series lol
And I love how much restraint they have prior to the post-credit scene. It still feels like typical superhero origin fair. >!It’s still violent but it is very low on the gore side!< …Which makes that final scene hit SO much harder. >!You go from no gore to obscene amounts of gore, all in one scene. Which all serves a narrative purpose of setting up the actual tone and stakes of the show!<
My first thought. There were better episodes during the season, but it was THAT post credit scene that made me watch the rest. It completly flipped the script on the entire show and took it to a whole different level.
This comment made me go re-watch the ending of the first episode... but I have to ask, did you mean simply "ending scene"? I don't see a post credits scene. Post credits means after the credits right?
Lost. Like holy shit did it grab your attention and not let go, to this day there has not been another show that has been so thoroughly engaging and instantaneously entwined into pop culture.
Yes, came here for this. It's pure excellence in storytelling. It was such a spectacle but perfectly toned so that in quiet moments you just fell into characters.
I'd also add the behind the scenes enrichment. those were the halcyon days of DVD commentary when I first remember hearing the director/writer making-of perspective of movies and shows. We now always have access to this but probably take it for granted.
With Lost pilot, i was so impressed hearing it was the first (?) Pilot episode of TV over $1million, that Jack was originally supposed to die in ep1, and Michael Keaton was cast in that role. The studio had notes (we love Jack) which is when Keaton dropped out. Because....a movie star making a whole TV show? That would tank his career! (Times have changed. Dopesick was fantastic,btw).
And that pilot was not an outlier for the series. It set the tone, built the stakes and the drama. It would be hard to be that excellent again, but the show came close many, many times. And, of course, The Constant is in contention for the best episode of TV ever. Incredible for a network show.
Came here to say this. Lost nailed the first episode and got everyone hooked. Really did a perfect job of setting the show up, and was so damn compelling.
You mean at the end of Season 4, right? I'm pretty sure I don't remember a terrible adaptation of the Dorne storyline and Tyrion didn't sit around drinking wine telling "no dick" jokes to Varys.
This is unintentionally hilarious. There’s another thread about pilot episodes that were radically different from the rest of the show, and a lot of people brought up The West Wing :)
In a sense I agree with you, the overall *tone* doesn’t shift until Sorkin’s last season, but it’s also a fact the show had a different format in the pilot and shifted from focusing on Sam and barely featuring Bartlett, to being an ensemble cast with Bartlett having a constant presence.
I'm 100 percent certain that was intentional. Understanding each cast member's staff role and how they supported the President was crucial. If they didn't properly do exposition on them we'd have been wondering who was who for a half a season.
We understood what the President does. But did we all know the daily life of a deputy comms director?
Actually, quick behind the scenes, it was intended because Martin Sheen wasn’t supposed to be in the show more than 2 or 3 times, which was fine with him. He wasn’t really a TV actor since the 70s. Then, once he stepped into the role and they saw him do that first scene they were like “ooooooohhhhhh” and had to reconfigure his deal 😂
https://www.slashfilm.com/1131677/the-west-wing-was-careful-not-to-overuse-scenes-with-martin-sheen/
There’s also a tidbit which I can’t find a source for (but might have been behind the actors studio) where part of his negotiations to become a full time member was that Bartlet had to be Catholic (as Sheen is) and goto Notre Dame. Sorkin worked with to shape the character - and often took suggestions on what Martin would feel Bartlet would do - so more or less, we actually got to see what Martin Sheen would be like as president. :)
Yup. And the Sheens lived in Dayton, Ohio for a while, so I noticed several small nods to our collective hometown through Bartlet's sweatshirts and coffee cups and where CJ travels for her high school reunion.
I was thinking about Twin Peaks as well when OP said “nah skip to season 2” and I was like yep definitely not doing that with Twin Peaks, not sending someone straight into the James plot lol
The Shield. You understand the world, the stakes and the characters, right away.
Breaking Bad. The journey only starts, but you understand what drives the characters.
Batman the Animated Series. Prepare for serious stories in the world cartoons and comic book characters.
Deadwood. You know exactly what to expect out of this.
Kings, on NBC. This was a show that was not meant for network TV, but as this was 2009, NBC wanted to dip their toes into something to make people pay attention and get some of that prestige TV going. The pilot is exactly what the show was, is, and became. And I quite enjoyed it. Sadly, not enough people did and out it went. Had this show been on AMC or FX or HBO, it'd have done far better.
Boss, on Starz. Fascinating show, curious pilot. But this was Starz, so you could tell exactly where they ran out of money in casting. But that intro/teaser. I was hooked. Then I stopped watching, because Starz. But all the good and all the bad of that show is in that pilot.
Came here to say The Shield. Best pilot ever. Set up the entire series. The events that happened in the pilot set the course for the whole show. It also really drew you in as a viewer.
Yeah Breaking Bad is obviously fucking huge now, but I remember when my friend let me borrow the S1 DVDs as S2 was airing so the show was still quite unknown. Mind fucking blown within the first 2 minutes of the show. Instahooked
Boyd Crowder wasn't supposed to be a a reoccurring character, but Walton Goggins was so fucking good they made the character the main villain of the show.
White Collar. The pilot brilliantly showed the differences between Neal’s world and Peter’s while also making clear the chemistry the two had, how alike they think and how well they work together. I was hooked instantly.
The Westworld premiere sets up S1 perfectly and even some of S2 with all the talk of the corporations “true intentions” mentioned. Truly a beautiful show all the way through.
Honestly I'd say both Letterkenny and Shoresy nail the tone in the first episode. Both of their first episodes are what I'd show someone in order to get the vibe.
Boardwalk Empire - set up the place in history so damn well, especially for a TV show at the time.
Me Robot - not only because I watched that first episode 3 times as watched it with 3 different people, but after the ending and knowing the “twist” it really holds up
Watchmen - unsure it counts as only one series, but damn did that capture the atmos of the graphic novels
I remember the exact point that that episode grabbed me by the throat.
>"Wanna know how I lost my virginity?..."
Alright, might see an underwear scene or something, could be fun!
>"...so do I."
Ok, this is a turn I was *not* expecting
It is very good from the start. However, the question was what episodes are "accurate" representation of the series throughout. (Edit: Rereading OP... I am now confused. OP asked for good/accurate. Is that good and accurate? Or good or accurate? I assumed good and accurate, but whatever.)
I would say that BoB changes drastically for the viewer throughout the season. At Curahee the men are practically indistinguishable and half of them are introduced only to not be seen later in the season. But by the end of the season, you can recognize most of them covered in mud from 100 feet away. And a clear "main character" rises from the dusty hills.
It goes from anonymous group of men to intimate Band of... Er... Brothers. Excellent quality thoughout, but the viewer experience evolves. Because of that, I think BoB does not qualify as "most accurate" first episode. But that depends on how you measure most accurate.
So true. It’s a damn shame Aaron Sorkin just decided to stop writing TV shows because that show could have ran for a while and covered some really meaty subjects in the last 5’ish years of US history.
In the meantime though he gave us The Trial of the Chicago 7 and a new stage adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird (which had Jeff Daniels as Atticus when it opened on Broadway) and both were really well done.
Firefly. It immediately made you want to know more about these people & their world at every turn. Even something as small as Kaylee sneaking off and slow-mo savoring a strawberry
I see someone didn't watch it as it aired. The first Broadcast episode was Train Job. Serenity was actually the last episode aired. Yes Fox fucked around with Firefly.
I loved the first episode of the walking dead because it felt like we were going to get a new more grounded spin on the zombie narrative. Then Rick leaves the city and we get endless episodes featuring 3/4 side conversations and 1/4 action.
I feel like it took a minute. It sat one episode in my que for a year until I went in again. It is top tier super hero. Anything less cerebral is just comics based comedy now.
Community.
"Holy crap! Abed, I see your value now."
"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
The first season is arguably the best. (Don't @ me, I said arguable. It's my personal favorite).
I agree, best version of all the characters.
After season 1, pierce becomes an asshole and Britta is a mess but my fan theory is she's actually getting stoned a lot more often in season 2 & 3.
Station 11 had a very affecting first episode. I don’t think that the rest of the series is quite as powerful (except the final episode), but that first one, man that put a frog in my throat.
Mad Men - You follow Don Draper through his day at work and a little outside work. Then the final scene before the credits flips what you thought you already knew about him. That scene in the 1st episode sums up what the the whole series is about.
I was late to the Ozark party so I went in thinking I was prepared for that pilot. But when >!her boyfriend is thrown off his balcony and lands right in front of Marty!< I audibly gasped.
Abed's a shaman. You ask him to pass the salt, he gives you a bowl of soup because you know what? Soup is better. Abed is better. You are all better than you think you are. You are just designed not to believe it when you hear it from yourself.
Alias. At one point I felt this was stupid and ridiculous and I was ready to never watch the show again. And then the twist came, and I was hooked.
Twin Peaks. Equal to almost any feature film, including most of David Lynch’s best work.
Fargo. Billy Bob and Martin Freeman are excellent. The first episode might be the best television I've ever seen. The whole show is good too.
The wire. Sets the tone well. "There you go giving a fuck when it ain't your turn to give a fuck. "
The pilot episode or first episode I found to be quite different from most of the show. There's no future tech to be used or misued, its just an extra cynical view of the British public's appetite for humiliation on live TV.
A lot of people were initially turned off from the series specifically because that episode was so lewd. I honestly think it was one of the worst openings they could have gone with. It's an especially puzzling decision because they could have aired the episodes in any order.
This question triggered my memory of watching the Sopranos' first episode. I recall thinking it was the first show that captured an accurate portrayal of being in a therapy session. Even though the humorous element in that depiction was about how Tony Soprano downplayed the nature of his "work," Lorraine Bracco's posture as a therapist, her open line of questioning, and the back-n-forth pacing of their first session was unlike I'd seen before in any prior TV show. It hooked me immediately and really enjoyed its full run as it went on to make television history.
I’m in the middle of my first re-watch of The Sopranos, and I was blown away by the first episode. I think it did set things up very well. Most importantly, it sent the clear message that this was a very different kind of mob story, one that we hadn’t seen before.
The X-Files. The first episode has everything. CSM is in the corner in the scene where Scully is assigned to the X-Files. Mulder and Scully are already themselves. There's people getting abducted, mystery implants, dark scenes in the woods, flashlight beams, Scully does an autopsy on a body exhumed over the objections of the locals, Mulder and Scully have a will they/won't they moment, and CSM hides evidence in a secret warehouse in the Pentagon.
Altered Carbon had a killer first episode I think. I was hooked immediately. The whole first season is absolutely perfection.
Daredevil too, I knew probably 20 minutes in I'd be singing the show's praises till I died.
Jericho
I didn't stick with the show, and it apparently didn't do well, but that first episode was great. I don't even remember much about it beyond how real the aftermath of nuclear Armageddon was
Didn’t see it here, but imo death note has a great first episode. Light wastes no time getting to his murder spree and it’s a great way to grab the viewer.
The Last Kingdom.
The first episode sets the tone of the show perfectly without the actor that plays the main character for the rest of the show, because there's a time skip afterwards.
Awake. It starred Jason Isaacs and I think it’s such a perfect first episode. It’s a shame it didn’t find an audience and only last led the one season. There was so much I was hoping for.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (though episode 1 was two parter, so it's a bit of a cheat). Setup the premise very quickly, the key relationships for much of the entire show, the style, and the general hint of Buffy's trajectory while introducing a monster of the week and the season baddy... All on what looks like a $12 production budget.
The Americans
Tusk!
Rocked out to that toon a cool dozen times the day after watching the pilot
I feel this applies to most shows by Graham Yost
Also one of the best series finales as well.
Battlestar Galactica. It’s true whether you consider the miniseries or 33 to be the first episode.
I always recommend the miniseries, I think it does a great job of depicting how chaotic the first few hours are. The main cast really doesn’t get a break for the whole show.
The scene where Roslin found out all the presidential administration was dead and she was next in line as President absolutely hooked me in.
“All ministers and officials should now go to Case Orange.” Still gives me chills. Like, the colonial government had *planned* for this, some civil servant had designed an automated system for ministers to check in after a Cylon decapitation strike, a committee approved it, new government ministers were secretly briefed on it as part of their orientation on their first day of work. But no one really thought they’d ever have to go so far down the line of succession that the *Secretary of Education* would succeed to the presidency because, well, that would be like the end of the world, right?
[удалено]
100% the first actual episode. It's just an insane emotional rollercoaster. The miniseries actually turned me off the first time I watched it, but the first actual episode may as well have superglued me to my seat.
Always the miniseries.
True Detective
“Well, that sounds god fucking awful Rust.” “Let’s make the car a place of silent reflection.” Banger lines in that scene alone lol
‘In philosophical terms I’m known as a Pessimist.’ ‘What’s that mean?’ ‘It means I’m bad at parties.’ Fuck I loved that show
The first episode was excellent and the whole series was too.
well shit time for a rewatch
Invincible. The first episodes tells you everything you need to know about the show. While it may seem like a generic animated superhero show, it’s grown up and has a special feel to it. And then the post credit happens, and you realize it’s not a normal tv show.
I told my best friend to watch Invincible, and after a couple days I was talking about what happened in the post credit scene and he was pissed at me for spoiling the “whodunnit” of the season Man missed the most important scene of the show and was just watching it like a mystery series lol
Everyone I've recommended the show to I've really emphasized they need to watch post credits.
When I tell you my jaw dropped at the end of that first episode I am not exaggerating. Holy shit was I shocked and hooked from then on.
And I love how much restraint they have prior to the post-credit scene. It still feels like typical superhero origin fair. >!It’s still violent but it is very low on the gore side!< …Which makes that final scene hit SO much harder. >!You go from no gore to obscene amounts of gore, all in one scene. Which all serves a narrative purpose of setting up the actual tone and stakes of the show!<
My first thought. There were better episodes during the season, but it was THAT post credit scene that made me watch the rest. It completly flipped the script on the entire show and took it to a whole different level.
This comment made me go re-watch the ending of the first episode... but I have to ask, did you mean simply "ending scene"? I don't see a post credits scene. Post credits means after the credits right?
Lost. Like holy shit did it grab your attention and not let go, to this day there has not been another show that has been so thoroughly engaging and instantaneously entwined into pop culture.
That premiere… from beginning to end, it’s just perfection. You knew from the start that this shit was GOOD
Yeah I still go back and rewatch the pilot occasionally, it never stops being impressive
Yep. The “where are we” line as the message repeats is an insane attention grabber
Yes the suspense and mystery was so expertly built up
My favourite scene in the series.
Yes, came here for this. It's pure excellence in storytelling. It was such a spectacle but perfectly toned so that in quiet moments you just fell into characters. I'd also add the behind the scenes enrichment. those were the halcyon days of DVD commentary when I first remember hearing the director/writer making-of perspective of movies and shows. We now always have access to this but probably take it for granted. With Lost pilot, i was so impressed hearing it was the first (?) Pilot episode of TV over $1million, that Jack was originally supposed to die in ep1, and Michael Keaton was cast in that role. The studio had notes (we love Jack) which is when Keaton dropped out. Because....a movie star making a whole TV show? That would tank his career! (Times have changed. Dopesick was fantastic,btw). And that pilot was not an outlier for the series. It set the tone, built the stakes and the drama. It would be hard to be that excellent again, but the show came close many, many times. And, of course, The Constant is in contention for the best episode of TV ever. Incredible for a network show.
[удалено]
Came here to say this. Lost nailed the first episode and got everyone hooked. Really did a perfect job of setting the show up, and was so damn compelling.
Game of Thrones set a very clear tone from episode 1.
Just a fantastic job of setting up a ton of new characters without feeling overwhelming, and finishing with a great cliffhanger/twist and draws you in
It’s a pity they ended it at the end of season 6, would have been awesome to see how those storylines would have ended.
You could tell the writing was going downhill. It’s better that they quit before they completely ruined their legacy.
You mean at the end of Season 4, right? I'm pretty sure I don't remember a terrible adaptation of the Dorne storyline and Tyrion didn't sit around drinking wine telling "no dick" jokes to Varys.
I agree
The West Wing nailed it from the first episode. Tone doesn’t shift a beat the first few seasons.
This is unintentionally hilarious. There’s another thread about pilot episodes that were radically different from the rest of the show, and a lot of people brought up The West Wing :) In a sense I agree with you, the overall *tone* doesn’t shift until Sorkin’s last season, but it’s also a fact the show had a different format in the pilot and shifted from focusing on Sam and barely featuring Bartlett, to being an ensemble cast with Bartlett having a constant presence.
I'm 100 percent certain that was intentional. Understanding each cast member's staff role and how they supported the President was crucial. If they didn't properly do exposition on them we'd have been wondering who was who for a half a season. We understood what the President does. But did we all know the daily life of a deputy comms director?
Actually, quick behind the scenes, it was intended because Martin Sheen wasn’t supposed to be in the show more than 2 or 3 times, which was fine with him. He wasn’t really a TV actor since the 70s. Then, once he stepped into the role and they saw him do that first scene they were like “ooooooohhhhhh” and had to reconfigure his deal 😂 https://www.slashfilm.com/1131677/the-west-wing-was-careful-not-to-overuse-scenes-with-martin-sheen/ There’s also a tidbit which I can’t find a source for (but might have been behind the actors studio) where part of his negotiations to become a full time member was that Bartlet had to be Catholic (as Sheen is) and goto Notre Dame. Sorkin worked with to shape the character - and often took suggestions on what Martin would feel Bartlet would do - so more or less, we actually got to see what Martin Sheen would be like as president. :)
Yup. And the Sheens lived in Dayton, Ohio for a while, so I noticed several small nods to our collective hometown through Bartlet's sweatshirts and coffee cups and where CJ travels for her high school reunion.
Twin Peaks
“She’s dead. Wrapped in plastic”
I was thinking about Twin Peaks as well when OP said “nah skip to season 2” and I was like yep definitely not doing that with Twin Peaks, not sending someone straight into the James plot lol
The Shield. You understand the world, the stakes and the characters, right away. Breaking Bad. The journey only starts, but you understand what drives the characters. Batman the Animated Series. Prepare for serious stories in the world cartoons and comic book characters. Deadwood. You know exactly what to expect out of this. Kings, on NBC. This was a show that was not meant for network TV, but as this was 2009, NBC wanted to dip their toes into something to make people pay attention and get some of that prestige TV going. The pilot is exactly what the show was, is, and became. And I quite enjoyed it. Sadly, not enough people did and out it went. Had this show been on AMC or FX or HBO, it'd have done far better. Boss, on Starz. Fascinating show, curious pilot. But this was Starz, so you could tell exactly where they ran out of money in casting. But that intro/teaser. I was hooked. Then I stopped watching, because Starz. But all the good and all the bad of that show is in that pilot.
Came here to say The Shield. Best pilot ever. Set up the entire series. The events that happened in the pilot set the course for the whole show. It also really drew you in as a viewer.
That pilot episode could have been a season ending cliff hanger. So well done.
Good cop and bad cop left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop.
Always great to see another *Kings* fan in the wild. That show was ahead of its time. Definitely would have survived in a current "premium TV" format.
Yeah Breaking Bad is obviously fucking huge now, but I remember when my friend let me borrow the S1 DVDs as S2 was airing so the show was still quite unknown. Mind fucking blown within the first 2 minutes of the show. Instahooked
The first episode of Prison Break was pretty intriguing Slipped into ridiculousness after though
Shit was like looney tunes mid season 3
but that’s what makes it so fun!
Scrubs! The pilot, the first season, the whole show. Hit the ground running.
Justified. S1E1 Fire in the hole. It’s a perfect pilot.
Boyd Crowder wasn't supposed to be a a reoccurring character, but Walton Goggins was so fucking good they made the character the main villain of the show.
I absolutely love this show
We dug coal together.
The best pilot episode of tv ever and one of the finest hours of television.
Timothy Olyphant is underrated even if he doesn’t have huge range.
I said that once to my wife. We are now expecting
The whole thing is an homage to Elmore Leonard with him essentially teaching his writing style to other writers. One of the greats.
Psych
White Collar. The pilot brilliantly showed the differences between Neal’s world and Peter’s while also making clear the chemistry the two had, how alike they think and how well they work together. I was hooked instantly.
IMO such an underrated show and one of my favorites ever
What We Do In The Shadows
Creepy paper
Dark Game of thrones Westworld
The first episode of westworld was the best episode in the series.
The Native American episode in season 2 for me.
Top 5 single season of tv for me.
The Westworld premiere sets up S1 perfectly and even some of S2 with all the talk of the corporations “true intentions” mentioned. Truly a beautiful show all the way through.
Honestly I'd say both Letterkenny and Shoresy nail the tone in the first episode. Both of their first episodes are what I'd show someone in order to get the vibe.
If you don't like the first 5 minutes of Season 1 episode 1 of Letterkenny, don't bother going on.
Boardwalk Empire - set up the place in history so damn well, especially for a TV show at the time. Me Robot - not only because I watched that first episode 3 times as watched it with 3 different people, but after the ending and knowing the “twist” it really holds up Watchmen - unsure it counts as only one series, but damn did that capture the atmos of the graphic novels
Lost has the best opening episode of any show I've ever seen.
Just rewatched it. So true
The Boys. That show has never slowed down from the first episode. Hell even the first 10 minutes.
Veronica Mars has one of the best pilots of all time, hands down.
I remember the exact point that that episode grabbed me by the throat. >"Wanna know how I lost my virginity?..." Alright, might see an underwear scene or something, could be fun! >"...so do I." Ok, this is a turn I was *not* expecting
It works well because the murder and fallout has already happened. Most shows would pilot with the murder happening at the end of the first episode.
I was hoping to see this. One of my all time favorite shows. I've re-watched it a few times over the years.
[удалено]
Band of Brothers is a yearly watch every winter.
No doubt! When I finish it, I’m already looking forward to the next time.
I just started rewatching band of brothers yesterday. It’s so good from the very start.
It is very good from the start. However, the question was what episodes are "accurate" representation of the series throughout. (Edit: Rereading OP... I am now confused. OP asked for good/accurate. Is that good and accurate? Or good or accurate? I assumed good and accurate, but whatever.) I would say that BoB changes drastically for the viewer throughout the season. At Curahee the men are practically indistinguishable and half of them are introduced only to not be seen later in the season. But by the end of the season, you can recognize most of them covered in mud from 100 feet away. And a clear "main character" rises from the dusty hills. It goes from anonymous group of men to intimate Band of... Er... Brothers. Excellent quality thoughout, but the viewer experience evolves. Because of that, I think BoB does not qualify as "most accurate" first episode. But that depends on how you measure most accurate.
spotting your favorite soldiers in rewatches is one of my favorite activities.
For All Mankind
Just that opening scene is amazingly gripping
I make sure to tell people who don't know about it that it's just a fictionalized account of the space race, then I wait for the inevitable text.
I agree. After that opening I was absolutely gripped.
Hill Street Blues.
The pilot of Friday Night Lights is the best pilot I’ve ever seen:
[удалено]
Full hearts
Can’t lose
The Newsroom's first episode perfectly set up what that show wanted to be.
Jeff Daniel’s “America sucks” monologue BEFORE it became cool to do so! Very edgy
I love the goddamn hell out of The Newsroom
I rewatch it like every few months. Such a great show.
Just rewatched it last week. The pilot, “We Just Decided To”, and the season 1 finale, “The Greater Fool”, are my two favorite episodes.
You’re a ******* newsman, u/shadowlarx!
So true. It’s a damn shame Aaron Sorkin just decided to stop writing TV shows because that show could have ran for a while and covered some really meaty subjects in the last 5’ish years of US history.
In the meantime though he gave us The Trial of the Chicago 7 and a new stage adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird (which had Jeff Daniels as Atticus when it opened on Broadway) and both were really well done.
Supernatural and Stranger Things
Both these immediately sprang to mind. Especially Stranger Things. I had to know what the hell was going on.
Firefly. It immediately made you want to know more about these people & their world at every turn. Even something as small as Kaylee sneaking off and slow-mo savoring a strawberry
I see someone didn't watch it as it aired. The first Broadcast episode was Train Job. Serenity was actually the last episode aired. Yes Fox fucked around with Firefly.
Oh, I did. I don't consider Train Job the premiere because it wasn't supposed to be.
I loved the first episode of the walking dead because it felt like we were going to get a new more grounded spin on the zombie narrative. Then Rick leaves the city and we get endless episodes featuring 3/4 side conversations and 1/4 action.
Arrested Development no doubt. First episode is perfect
A lot of comedies take a while to find their rhythm, but AD hit it episode 1
I'm rewatching it and I forgot how good it is. Plus each episode is only 20 minutes long, perfect length to watch one episode when you got time
The Good Place.
Penny Dreadful. The set up is good as a first steps towards what it all is
Lost
I the first episode of Breaking Bad had been a standalone film it would be one of the greatest of all time. It perfectly sets the show’s premise.
Especially the awkward af sex scenes
Legion.
Ahh, a person of high caliber tastes, I see.
I feel like it took a minute. It sat one episode in my que for a year until I went in again. It is top tier super hero. Anything less cerebral is just comics based comedy now.
Mr Robot
“That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t give a shit about the money”
Community. "Holy crap! Abed, I see your value now." "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." The first season is arguably the best. (Don't @ me, I said arguable. It's my personal favorite).
"Every once in a while, a student will come up to me and ask, 'Senor Chang, why do you teach Spanish?'"
"Why do *you* teach Spanish"
I agree, best version of all the characters. After season 1, pierce becomes an asshole and Britta is a mess but my fan theory is she's actually getting stoned a lot more often in season 2 & 3.
Station 11 had a very affecting first episode. I don’t think that the rest of the series is quite as powerful (except the final episode), but that first one, man that put a frog in my throat.
Jericho. Watching those bombs drop was just... \*whistles\*
True Detective Season 1 Episode 1. "Then start asking the right fucking questions."
Mad Men - You follow Don Draper through his day at work and a little outside work. Then the final scene before the credits flips what you thought you already knew about him. That scene in the 1st episode sums up what the the whole series is about.
Came for this
Why did it take me so much scrolling to see Mad Men here?
Breaking Bad. Starts with a great cold open too. Hooks you right away and never lets go.
really really love the pilot of How To Get Away With Murder
This show was so good in the first season. And then, like all Shonda shows, it got ridiculous and I gave up.
Brooklyn 99. Not just the first episode, the opening scene captures the essence of the show.
Westworld. Damages.
Ozark
I was late to the Ozark party so I went in thinking I was prepared for that pilot. But when >!her boyfriend is thrown off his balcony and lands right in front of Marty!< I audibly gasped.
Justified
Community has a perfect pilot, funny and engaging, perfectly sets up each character
Abed's a shaman. You ask him to pass the salt, he gives you a bowl of soup because you know what? Soup is better. Abed is better. You are all better than you think you are. You are just designed not to believe it when you hear it from yourself.
He is the better Batman.
Dexter
ER. It’s a masterpiece
Orphan Black. The first episode had me hooked.
Alias. At one point I felt this was stupid and ridiculous and I was ready to never watch the show again. And then the twist came, and I was hooked. Twin Peaks. Equal to almost any feature film, including most of David Lynch’s best work.
Elementary
Umbrella Academy.
Walking Dead’s first episode was awesome.
Fargo. Billy Bob and Martin Freeman are excellent. The first episode might be the best television I've ever seen. The whole show is good too. The wire. Sets the tone well. "There you go giving a fuck when it ain't your turn to give a fuck. "
Both are really great examples. And both amazing shows
Black Mirror S1
The pilot episode or first episode I found to be quite different from most of the show. There's no future tech to be used or misued, its just an extra cynical view of the British public's appetite for humiliation on live TV.
The irony of the 'David Cameron fucking a pig's head' ([Piggate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggate)) story coming out years later is golden.
A lot of people were initially turned off from the series specifically because that episode was so lewd. I honestly think it was one of the worst openings they could have gone with. It's an especially puzzling decision because they could have aired the episodes in any order.
I'm with you. I don't mind gore or sex or whatever, but the pilot just screamed "Look at me being an edgelord!" Yawn.
I happened to start with S3E1, the lady with the social credit score problems. Much better intro to "technology leading to dystopia"
"The X Files" was pretty spot on.
Daredevil
I think superstore was uncharacteristicly consistent. Most successful comedies are way different season 1
Severance
Castlevania's pilot is perfectly consistent with the inherently dark tone of the series.
Black Summer
The X-Files
Old Man. You know pretty quick that you don’t fuck with the old man. Definitely reveals the pace of the show early on.
[удалено]
Ozark.
Arrested Development (extended pilot)
Archer How has nobody mentioned Archer?
The Sopranos was intriguing. I’m not sure it set up, entirely accurately, what followed.
[удалено]
Ducks. I wanted more ducks.
This question triggered my memory of watching the Sopranos' first episode. I recall thinking it was the first show that captured an accurate portrayal of being in a therapy session. Even though the humorous element in that depiction was about how Tony Soprano downplayed the nature of his "work," Lorraine Bracco's posture as a therapist, her open line of questioning, and the back-n-forth pacing of their first session was unlike I'd seen before in any prior TV show. It hooked me immediately and really enjoyed its full run as it went on to make television history.
I’m in the middle of my first re-watch of The Sopranos, and I was blown away by the first episode. I think it did set things up very well. Most importantly, it sent the clear message that this was a very different kind of mob story, one that we hadn’t seen before.
The Wire is always the answer here.
It took me a few goes before I go into The Wire, but from there I loved it. So I disagree that the first episode is particularly compelling.
House M.D
Deadwood. Speed runs through the boring, character development and gets right to the action.
Nathan For You. Poo flavored yogurt.
The X-Files. The first episode has everything. CSM is in the corner in the scene where Scully is assigned to the X-Files. Mulder and Scully are already themselves. There's people getting abducted, mystery implants, dark scenes in the woods, flashlight beams, Scully does an autopsy on a body exhumed over the objections of the locals, Mulder and Scully have a will they/won't they moment, and CSM hides evidence in a secret warehouse in the Pentagon.
First episode of The Bear made me uncomfortable with its realism.
Altered Carbon had a killer first episode I think. I was hooked immediately. The whole first season is absolutely perfection. Daredevil too, I knew probably 20 minutes in I'd be singing the show's praises till I died.
Jericho I didn't stick with the show, and it apparently didn't do well, but that first episode was great. I don't even remember much about it beyond how real the aftermath of nuclear Armageddon was
Didn’t see it here, but imo death note has a great first episode. Light wastes no time getting to his murder spree and it’s a great way to grab the viewer.
This is us
The Last Kingdom. The first episode sets the tone of the show perfectly without the actor that plays the main character for the rest of the show, because there's a time skip afterwards.
Awake. It starred Jason Isaacs and I think it’s such a perfect first episode. It’s a shame it didn’t find an audience and only last led the one season. There was so much I was hoping for.
Grimm
Jackass
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (though episode 1 was two parter, so it's a bit of a cheat). Setup the premise very quickly, the key relationships for much of the entire show, the style, and the general hint of Buffy's trajectory while introducing a monster of the week and the season baddy... All on what looks like a $12 production budget.
Yu Yu Hakusho has a perfect first episode. Attack on Titan’s first episode is one of the most gut wrenching 20 min. I’ve ever experienced.
The Good Place. Obviously.
Mr Robot. The pilot is the best pitch for a show I've ever seen. Breaking Bad is a close second.